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The Drums’ backstory can be told through the band’s song titles. Founding members Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham became “Best Friend”s after they met at summer camp when they were 13. They formed a band, Elkland (originally called Goat Explosion)—though “How It Ended” for Elkland is a mystery, as the band was quickly singed by Columbia records and had promising “Days.” In 2008, Jonathan and Jacob came up with the artistic concept behind The Drums and (each thinking, perhaps, “I Felt Stupid” for calling it quits) moved “Down by the Water” to Florida to focus on “The Future” of their Summertime! (okay, that’s an album title) sounding rock. They broke onto the indie rock scene in 2009 via their beach rock insta-hit “Let’s Go Surfing,” and have been making music that’s not “Hard To Love” ever since. Let’s hope they keep it up “Forever And Ever Amen.” The Drums perform with Craft Spells and Part Time at 8:30 p.m. at Union Transfer; tickets to the all-ages show are $15. –Naomi Shavin

Making Time RADio w/ Dave P returns to the XPN airwaves for its monthly two-hour excursion into the “futuristic sounds” this Friday night at 7 p.m. This Saturday evening is a Making Time event featuring The Drums, WU LYF, Crystal Antlers and Beautful Swimmers and the coterie of Making Time DJ’s including Dave P and Sammy Slice, the Broadzilla DJ’s, Adam Sparkles, a DJ set from Pink Skull, Dave Pax and Mike Z. The 21+ show on Saturday is at Voyeur, 1221 St. James Street. Advanced tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Below, check out a video for “How It Ends” by The Drums.

The Drums and WU LYF are booked to play Making Time on Saturday, November 5th at Voyeur. The Drums are releasing their new album Portamento on Frenchkiss Records on September 13th. WU LYF released one of the best albums of the year so far (Pitchfork gave it a “Best New Music” thumbs up) Go Tell Fire To The Mountain. Below, check out the video for “Money” a new song from The Drums’ forthcoming album and “Heavy Pop” by WU LYF. And don’t forget: Making Time is happening tonight w/ Gardens & Villa, DOM and Craft Spells. Information for tonight’s show is here.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22Making Time returns to Voyeur, and Dave P is bringing a few friends with him: Brooklyn-based indie-pop quartet The Drums and West Palm Beach, Florida’s Surfer Blood. Meanwhile, local garage-rock quartet The Spooks will perform in the venue’s Ruby Lounge basement with the RockTits DJs. And, to top it off, Dave P will also be putting together a Making Time RADio local-band mix for us over here at The Key. All of which means Philadelphia’s raddest hyper-rad dance party just got significantly more radically radical. Rad! The Drums perform with Surfer Blood at 9 p.m. at Voyeur; tickets to the 21+ show are $15.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23
How do we feel about Phoenix‘s now-ubiquitous single “1901″ from last year’s critically acclaimed Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix? Well, we love its beautiful, stripped-down simplicity—quite possibly the band’s crowning songwriting achievement to date. (One that took the French quartet 14 years—and three previous albums—to create.) And we always get a kick out of the way that Thomas Mars’ charmingly imperfect voice cracks when he sings “Eighteen fifty-five, nineteen ooHHH-one” halfway through the song. But, more than anything else, it really makes us want to buy a brand-new Cadillac SRX. After all, why listen to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix on your 1995 Volkswagon Jetta’s crappy tape deck when you could do so in style, driving the world’s only true luxury crossover SUV (modestly priced at $34,155)? Well, other than that whole safety recall thing. Phoenix performs with Jenny And Johnny and Wavves at 8 p.m. at the Tower Theater; tickets are $45.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24
Has it really been 10 years since Erin McKeown released her breakthrough sophomore album, Distillation? It must be, because her performance at World Cafe Live is billed as part of her “Distillation 10th Anniversary Tour.” Still, it seems like it was just yesterday that people were asking, “Hey, who is this kooky folk-rock singer-songwriter that started her own label and isn’t Ani DiFranco?” Erin has, of course, made her own name for herself since then, releasing an additional four studio albums of unpredictable, genre-jumping music—including last year’s Hundreds Of Lions (which came out, coincidentally, on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records)—while constantly playing on the road. During this performance, she’ll play Distillation in its entirety, followed by a set of more recent material. Erin McKeown performs at 7:30 p.m. at World Cafe Live; tickets are $30-$40.

Also playing: Matt And Kim + Donnis at Starlight Ballroom (7:30 p.m., SOLD OUT); Gentleman Jesse And His Men + The Barreracudas, Woman at Kung Fu Necktie (8 p.m., $10)

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

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About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH